8/31/03 – Mount Daly & Capitol Peak – East Face, Northeast Ridge

15.25 miles, 7380'      map of route


Perhaps it will become tradition that around each Labor Day Erin and I will devastate our bodies with a brutal test of endurance. Last year it was an unplanned day-hike of Crestone Needle and Humboldt Peak. This year Kurt suggested a climb that would prove far tougher than that landmark in our short climbing history.

Originally planned for the following week, we bumped our Capitol climb up a week to accommodate Dwight, who'll be climbing the Needle this coming weekend. Dwight was very appreciative, but both Erin and I were really glad to not have to think about this climb for another week. We were ready for the challenge!

Kurt and Dwight drove to Snowmass Village on Friday and took in an evening of revelry. They followed that up with a shopping spree at Summit Canyon Mountaineering in Glenwood Springs on Saturday, taking advantage of a sale they were holding. Erin and I drove in on Saturday afternoon and met them for dinner at Butch's Lobster Bar in the upper village. There we finally got the opportunity to meet Kurt's good friend Kristy who was in the area for the weekend seeing an old college friend. We thought we'd be able to join them for more fun the following evening, but as you'll see, this was not to be. After some heavy carb-loading on pasta and rolls, we four headed to the Snowmass Creek trailhead for an abbreviated car-camp. The trailhead was almost completely full when we arrived at 9:00 p.m., but fortunately two guys had just returned from a climb of Snowmass Mountain and left soon after, opening up a spot for Erin and I. I laughed to myself about that pair's late return to the trailhead, but for that, karma would soon be ready to bite me in the ass.

We woke at 2:00 a.m. and got our things ready, hitting the trail at 2:35. While we prepped, we heard some elk bugling. From what I understand, elk usually aren't bugling this early in the season, but they can be "fooled" by a day or two of cool temperatures and/or rain, both of which were around on Saturday. The hike to the signed West Snowmass Creek turnoff went quickly. The issue with using West Snowmass is that you have to cross Snowmass Creek. We donned our sandles, which we had brought for this purpose, and crossed the lazy, late-summer waters. Kurt said he's crossed the creek here in far worse conditions. The hike along West Snowmass was easy and enjoyable, and we kept our pace slow because we thought we may have started too early. Along the way we marvelled at the stars and the Milky Way, and I had to take out binoculars for a closer look at Mars and the Pleiades. At around 10,000' in a meadow, we left the main trail (which continues up toward Haystack Mountain and down to Capitol Creek) as one would for the standard West Snowmass approach to Capitol. We took a quick break here and were treated to some coyote howls.

At 11,000' after another hour, Kurt identified our next turning point, and we began our ascent of Mount Daly on steep, grassy slopes. We climbed the slopes for 1000', and Mount Sopris, with a cloud spilling over it, became visible about three-quarters of the way up. The sun made its grand entrance for the day just before we topped out on Daly's northeast ridge. Atop the ridge, our views were already glorious. The Maroon Bells were picking up a hint of sun to our east. We could also see into the upper West Snowmass basin – Moon Lake, Clark Peak, and spectacular UN 12,903 being the highlights above it. Meanwhile Daly's delightful East Face was fully bathed in morning sun, and our last 1000' of climbing to its summit looked intimidating. We traversed the northeast ridge until we were under the face. It was interesting to get a taste of the "true" Elks for the first time. Even on this easy ridge where the scrambling probably never exceeded 2+, testing every hold, even the minor ones, was a must. Our ridge, though far less defined at this point, continues up to Daly's summit area, but we stayed to its left and climbed the face directly. Our route up the face never exceeded third-class and was much easier than it looked. On some spots we were on some loose scree, but the climb was a lot of fun on the whole. We finished our climb of the face in a shallow notch between Daly's twin summits.

The true summit was to our left and we raced up the last 30 feet in anticipation of our view of Capitol – which was as stunning as Kurt had said it would be. To see Capitol and a profile of its north-facing drama from a nearly equivalent height 2 miles away is a view that I don't believe can be surpassed. Capitol Lake was reflecting a faint bit of light in the otherwise dark headwaters of Capitol Creek. It was chilly at 8:00 that morning, and the wind was biting. We ate breakfast and took in the views for thirty minutes before beginning the downclimb of Daly's south ridge. This ridge is very easy from the summit nearly the whole way to Daly Pass (which is also the Capitol-Daly saddle). We didn't encounter much third-class until we neared the pass. We stayed on or near the ridge crest the whole way except for negotiating the last intervening point between us and Daly Pass. This we easily bypassed on the east side by dropping below a couple of ribs.

At the pass we joined Capitol's standard route, and we saw other people for the first time – a few were just ahead of us, and we also noticed some others making a final push to "K2." The trail leads to a gash in the terrain, which we had to downclimb and then climb out of on the other side. Kurt took one way up; the rest of us took another gully. At the top, Kurt encountered a woman wearing a fanny-pack. Kurt said she looked "out of place." She began climbing into the gash and started some rockfall. Kurt says she stated, "little rocks," after doing so, but this warning was nowhere near loud enough for Erin who got pelted by these "little rocks." One in particular clocked her in the neck, and another split one of her fingertips open. Erin expressed her displeasure with a couple of shouts, which must have been obvious to her assailant. Nevertheless, this dim woman offered no apologies as she climbed back out of the gash. Dwight and I exited the gash and checked on how Erin was doing. Kurt already had her cleaned up and bandaged for the most part. If I had known all the details at the time, I'd have given that woman a piece of my mind, but it was only after she left that I found out exactly what had happened.

We moved on. Our next goal was, of course, "K2," and we were beginning to slow with each step. Dwight and I were having trouble keeping up with Kurt and Erin as we climbed the large boulders that fill the basin. I really liked the boulders there, many of which were large enough to be sidewalks. We took a food break just below "K2," and I was glad at the time that we hadn't yet seen Capitol from this new perspective, as I was still approaching our crux of the day with some trepidation. Mount Daly was already distant; it was hard to believe we had come so far but still had so far to go. But it was soon time to move on again. Capitol was awesome to behold, and we saw a number of people coming back across the knife-edge. We hadn't seen any marmots around who might be tempted by our salty trekking pole handles, so we locked them into place with some rocks near K2's summit, not wanting them to be in the way during our climb of Capitol. Then we were off!

After downclimbing "K2," Kurt pointed out the incredible couloir that marks the beginning of the ridge between "K2" and Capitol. Though there's not any fear of falling here, this couloir must be the most intense exposure on the whole route. You can also see how some of "K2" overhangs this remarkable drop. After a couple of ups and downs, we were upon the knife. The knife clearly separates those who are comfortable from those who are not. While Kurt tightroped many of its segments, I clumsily combined a scramble with the occassional crab-walk when that felt right. Erin and Dwight utlized scrambles as well as a few straddle-and-scoots. We three Capitol rookies found the exposure to be overrated. It probably pays to save Capitol for later so that you're beyond this kind of exposure getting to you.

Once past the knife, the climb up to Capitol was a breeze, feeling very similar in nature to the standard routes of Maroon Peak or Pyramid Peak. On our way, we continued to pass by numbers of people who had already succeeded on Capitol. At 1:00, we finally summitted. What a wonderful place to have to ourselves! You can inspect the amazing ridge from Capitol to Snowmass (I still can't believe Kurt's traversed this!). You can look back to the knife-edge and watch people slowly making their way across. You can stare at gigantic Capitol Lake. Look north to Mount Sopris and the ever-changing colors – maroons, silvers, and coppers – of the ridge that connects it to Capitol. Peer down a gully for an amazing glimpse of Avalanche Lake many thousands of feet below. Or take in the amazing size and scope of the Pierre Lakes Basin with its shimmering jewels nestled amidst untold numbers of boulders.

Our weather couldn't have been better, and we soaked up the sun on our solitary perch. Erin was already talking food and margs, which had me daydreaming for a moment before reality kicked in, and I reminded myself that we were many hours and many miles away from such luxuries. It was getting late, and we reluctantly got up and began the long downclimb. After descending the upper 1-200' of Capitol's summit prism and wrapping around, we got onto the northeast ridge and followed it all the way to the knife-edge, a route we found superior to winding through the face. Maybe because I now knew what the knife was like, I found myself savoring its challenges on the way back, my moves feeling less forced. In fact, I thought it ended too soon on the way back. I was staying close to Kurt, and inspired by him, I worked up the confidence to tightrope all of two steps on an easier portion of the knife.

After passing through the notch between "K2" and the knife-edge, we took another break and contemplated our future. We were all out of water at this point (this doesn't happen to Erin and I often, as we always carry 3 liters each!), Our plan had been to descend into the Pierre Lakes Basin and return to our trailhead via Bear Creek and Snowmass Creek, but at no point during our climb could we see an obvious break in the cliffs that would give us access to the basin. Not to be deterred, Kurt led us along the ridge that connects Clark Peak to Capitol Peak. We weren't seeing anything, though, and I was ready to give up. Kurt continued alone to a deep notch, which is the low-point on said ridge, and called out that he had found the way down. I was still hesitant because it was 3:00 p.m., and I knew that any journey into the Pierre Lakes would mean a return to our trailhead in the dark. Dwight and Erin said they'd go either way, so I deferred. We three made a small climb up dirty snow and rocks into the notch.

Sure enough, an easy gully was before us, providing a somewhat loose class 2+/3 downclimb. Once through the cliffs, we still had two-thirds of our descent ahead of us before we reached the lake. Mental fatigue was kicking in at this point, and I was starting to zone out as I dropped from boulder to boulder to boulder. I heard Erin and Kurt saying that we'd pump water at the grassy spot. I thought this could only mean this small grassy peninsula that extends into the upper lake (visible on the quad) and aimed for it. I saw Kurt heading another way but figured that he was planning on rounding the lake near its shore, something that didn't appeal to me. I kept hearing the rest of my party's voices, so I assumed they were just behind, but it must have been echoes tricking me. Once on the peninsula, I saw that they hadn't been talking about my spot but were at the lake's shore nearest our gully.

I wasn't going to walk back to them on this difficult terrain, so I sat and enjoyed my solitude. I must say that this jutting of land is an ideal spot for taking in the Pierre Lakes Basin's beauty, and I was upset that I didn't have access to a camera. From here I had 360 degrees of views. To my south, unnamed 12ers captured my eye, attractive high-points on a ridge that culminates with the striking profile of "North Snowmass." The full length of the Snowmass-Capitol ridge wrapped around me to Capitol's summit. The Bells were picking up late afternoon sun and glowing a deep maroon. A dramatic counterpoint to Pierre Lakes Basin's rolling boulderfields is UR 13,080, an amazing fin that seems to be a remnant of Capitol's southeast ridge. The knife-edge looked utterly tame from here, especially compared to other ridges in view: Clark Peak's west ridge and Snowmass Mountain's east ridge, in particular. And there was the gully we had just descended, the sole weakness among the cliffs that completely surrounded me.

The rest got moving and were soon above me. Once nearer, we had difficulty communicating, and I started to get cranky. They seemed to want to take a route that would send them over a small ridge, but I wanted none of the extra elevation gain. I resolved to let them go their way, and I'd go mine. This did not work out well. As it turned out, they struggled to figure out just where I had gone to, and I was moving fast because I figured they were ahead and above me. As I neared the third-highest lake, I noticed that they were behind me and I stopped at the next large boulder. The terrain is difficult – the boulder-hopping is relentless – so I laid down to pass the time as they approached. Another mistake, because they hadn't seen me sit down. I lost track of them because they descended below me and to the lake, and I had to race to catch up with them while they paused on another small ridge. They were not happy with me, and a small tiff resulted. I suppose its hard to keep the friction down, though, during such a long day.

We were finished with the boulder-hopping once we reached the beginnings of Bear Creek, and the trail was very good for a while. Kurt and Dwight saw some elk, and Kurt even found some wild raspberries. The views remained gorgeous throughout. We had passed Clark Peak at this point, and the more rugged UN 13,060 was now to our left. According to Ken Nolan, this summit is home to "one of the most interesting things that you will ever find in the Colorado mountains." Don't know what that is yet, but I intend to find out one day! Just don't come asking me when I do. If Ken's keeping it a secret, I probably will, too!

I knew we still had around 2000' to lose, and Kurt had been warning us that the Bear Creek trail would get steep soon. But I did not expect the trail to take such a dramatic turn for the worse. Suddenly the trail was completely overtaken by lush Elk Range undergrowth. Not that I'm the intrepid off-trail hiker, but I've been on bushwhacks with less bushwhacking! In the midst of the steep, overgrown portion, we lost the trail and followed some pink blazes. This "trail" cliffed out, though. Kurt went ahead and made a sketchy downclimb, but the rest of us were too weary to attempt it. We turned back and found a small cairn and the real trail, which expertly took us through the cliffs. We reached a small, open area, and our view behind us revealed a spectacular waterfall, probably the most dramatic I've yet seen in Colorado. It must have been over 100' tall, but it was also wide with Bear Creek's substantial flow.

The trail alternated between overgrown trail and talus-hopping for a good while. I could see the area ahead of us where Snowmass Creek lies. Tantalizingly close, it would take us a couple more hours to reach. Finally the ridges that had been encompassing us to our sides had dropped away. We had to be close to the Snowmass Creek Trail, right? Well actually, the confluence of Bear and Snowmass Creeks was still further away. We hiked along another interesting portion of Bear Creek where it's cut a half-canyon, if you will. The far side of Bear Creek featured 10-20' walls whereas our side had gentle slopes. Erin had said a while back that she was only hoping we'd get to Snowmass Creek before night fell. At the time, there was no doubt in my mind that this wouldn't be a problem, but here we were, still along Bear Creek with darkness rapidly enshrouding us. This trip was only the second time Erin and I have started and ended a hike with headlamps.

It's not clear to me where exactly we should have crossed Snowmass Creek, but I do know that we crossed Copper Creek and continued along Snowmass Creek's west side. After some time, Kurt gave up on the increasingly hard-to-follow trail and took off for Snowmass Creek with the rest of us following slowly. As we neared the creek, I couldn't understand why I was seeing Kurt's headlamp 15' above us. In a stroke of unbelievable fortune, Kurt had taken us to a log bridge. It was high above a raging Snowmass Creek and worrisome to cross, but the builders had been kind enough to include a handrail. Once across, we were literally feet from the Snowmass Creek Trail, and we only had 2-3 miles to reach the trailhead!

Those last miles were tough, but it only took us an 1 1/4 hours after the crossing to reach the trailhead. It was 9:45, and we were utterly exhausted. Then Kurt tells us how hard it is to find food in Snowmass after 10:00 p.m. He got on the horn and hooked us up with some pizza, and we shot off to the Village to pick it up. Even though they were closing at 10:00, the guys running the joint were kind enough to let us eat there and serve us a pitcher of delectable beer. The pizza tasted amazing. Talk was short, and I've never seen Kurt stare into space with a beer in front of him. The least animated I've ever seen him! After dinner, we parted ways. Kurt had had a place for us all to stay in town, but he no longer felt comfortable calling his friend at such a late hour. He and Dwight drove to Carbondale and spent the night at a hotel. Erin and I caffeinated, and she slowly drove us home while we kept conversation flowing to keep us awake. We took an hour-long nap at Officer's Gulch, and made it home at 4:00 a.m. safe and sound. A shower and bed never felt so heavenly.

Big thanks to Kurt for dragging our asses on this immense tour of Capitol. That 14er is Kurt's favorite mountain, and I can see why. Two years ago, Capitol was on our list of 14ers we'd never touch, and now we can say we've done it! That feels awesome! And how many people get to make their first ascent of Capitol like we did? What an incredible day!!